Enterprise Brief: Sahelia Solar
Published: 05 July 2016
A leading solar company in Burkina Faso, Sahelia Solar is now starting to provide solar energy systems to off-grid agro-processing plants managed by rural cooperatives. The pay-as-you-go model provides people in rural areas with readily available, reliable, and affordable energy. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: SolarTurtle
Published: 05 July 2016
SolarTurtle converts shipping containers into mobile solar power stations and solar kiosks called “Turtles”. The company empowers women entrepreneurs to operate these secure fold-away power stations in order to sell clean and affordable energy to off-grid schools, clinics and individual community members. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: SPOUTS of Water
Published: 05 July 2016
To improve access to safe drinking water, SPOUTS manufactures and supplies an affordable ceramic water filter, called the Purifaaya, which is made with local resources and materials easily found in Uganda. SPOUTS is the sole manufacturer of water filtration products in Uganda. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Sustainable Options
Published: 05 July 2016
SRGDI facilitates the wide distribution of solar lighting technology to the rural population of Malawi. By providing training and promoting self-financing schemes of local youth associations, the enterprise acts as a facilitator between suppliers and customers and promotes entrepreneurship in rural Malawi. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Tii Ki Komi Cassava Commercial Growers (TCCG)
Published: 05 July 2016
Tii Ki Komi Cassava Commercial Growers produces cassava and processes it into chips, flour and peels of high quality. While improving the socio-economic conditions of the population, the enterprise contributes to sustainable agriculture. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Unique Quality Product Enterprise
Published: 05 July 2016
Unique Quality Product Enterprise represents the first business in Ghana that adds value to Fonio, a neglected, indigenous and nutritious cereal crop that grows well on unfertilised marginal land. The company mobilises and supports rural women to cultivate Fonio, processes and markets the products. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: YICE Uganda
Published: 05 July 2016
YICEUganda provides rural smallholder farmers in Uganda with flexible farm loans, inputs and training services to reduce hunger and poverty. With its network of local farm agents, YICEUganda facilitates farmers’ access to bundled agricultural services at various levels of the farming value chain. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Ziweto Enterprise
Published: 05 July 2016
Ziweto Enterprise provides rural livestock smallholders with access to veterinary advice and other animal health products and services. Through a franchising model, Ziweto enables entrepreneurs to establish agro-veterinary shops, improving the livelihood of underserved communities in rural Malawi. Read more
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Sustainable development goals: eight ways to make reality match ambition
Alex Evans Source: Alex Evans
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SEED Winners expanding access to electricity in Uganda
Published: 28 June 2016
Green Heat Ltd, a 2014 SEED Low Carbon Award Winner, and GRS Commodities Ltd, a 2013 SEED Africa Award Winner, were both winning recipients in the recent Off-Grid Energy Challenge hosted by the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) in Uganda in February. These two enterprises improve access to electricity in off-grid areas of Uganda with renewable energies as the solution. Read more
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Meet the 2016 SEED Accelerator Recipients
Published: 17 June 2016
Announcement of the 2016 SEED Accelerator Recipient took place during the SEED South Africa Symposium on March 15-16th 2016. Read more
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Agriculture: Re-thinking an old industry
Published: 16 June 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Agriculture still plays an essential role in the economy, and particular for employment on the African continent. Mozambique is no exception. In 2011, the agricultural sector contributed to almost one-third of the country’s GDP and provided a living for 80% of the working population. Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter and BDS+ training in Ghana
Published: 25 May 2016
Two new opportunities for Ghana are now open. SEED is glad to announce a call for applications. Read more
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From Innovation to Imitation: Register now for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium
Published: 25 May 2016
Registrations are now open for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium. The Symposium is an annual multi-stakeholder forum for mutual exchange of knowledge and experiences. It will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 28-29 September. Read more
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A perspective from India
Published: 10 May 2016 Allison Robertshaw
This past month, it was India’s turn, as SEED hosted an event around investment in the low-carbon, green SME sector. Whilst it’s fair to say that every region and country has its own challenges, it remains surprising how similar the discussion is and how clearly certain interventions are necessary in order to make the green SME space both more resilient and scalable. Read more
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SEED shares experience at the 2016 Tech4Dev Conference
Published: 05 May 2016
SEED is invited to participate in the panel discussion “Social Innovations for Energy Access: Organizing Sustainable Energy for All" at this year's International Tech4Dev Conference in Lausanne. Read more
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Women-to-women energy networks: essential piece of the puzzle for SE4All
Published: 04 May 2016 Amélie Heuër
Over the last three days, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the 2016 International Tech4Dev Conference, which focussed on innovation to achieve social impact. Read more
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Unlocking capital, boosting support – building the ecosystem for eco-entrepreneurship in South Africa
Published: 14 April 2016 Marion Müller vom Berge
This year’s South Africa Symposium brought together more than 200 entrepreneurs, practitioners, investors and policy makers to discuss how to grow and support social and eco-enterprises in South Africa. The event focused on two key challenges facing SMEs in South Africa. Read more
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SEED hosts Cleantech Investment Forum Asia
Published: 13 April 2016
SMEs will play a vital role in the development of the clean tech industry, and on April 22nd at the Lalit Hotel in Mumbai, SEED will host a full day of discussions surrounding how to encourage investment in this key area. Read more
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BDS+ in Mauritius: Nominate until 13 April!
Published: 08 April 2016
The Call for Nominations for the BDS+ workshop in Mauritius is now open. Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter Month in Kenya and Uganda
Published: 05 April 2016
Call for application: SEED is looking for motivated potential entrepreneurs! Read more
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SEED South Africa Symposium 2016
Published: 21 March 2016
More than 200 entrepreneurs, practitioners, investors and policymakers made the SEED South Africa Symposium on March 15-16th 2016 a great success. Read more
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From trash to cash: How to turn waste back into a valuable resource
Published: 09 March 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Worldwide heaps of waste are expected to double by 2015 according to the World Bank. The majority of it is burned, dumped into landfills or ends up in our oceans. The small minority of the waste we are producing is taken for what it really is: an important resource. Read more
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9 SEED winners ready to raise funds at Pretoria Investor Forum
Published: 03 March 2016
SEED and the Inclusive Business Accelerator have launched Deal Ready Programme to support selected SEED winners in the capturing of investment finance. Read more
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Social Enterprise in Latin America - A frontier market on the cusp of going mainstream
Published: 24 February 2016 Allison Robertshaw
Last week I had the pleasure of attending New Ventures’ Foro Latinoamericano de Inversion Impacto in Merida, Mexico. It was an inspiring few days unpicking the latest developments in social entrepreneurship in the region and proved an interesting opportunity to compare to recent developments in Africa where I attended SEED’s African Symposium just a few months ago. Read more
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